State Election in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 2021

The study on the 2021 state election in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania was conducted by the Forschungsgruppe Wahlen. During the survey period 20.09.2021 to 24.09.2021, 1286 eligible voters in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania were interviewed by telephone (CATI) on the following topics: Political opinion: Parties. Top candidates. Problems and competences. Electoral decision in the context of candidate preference and party competence. The respondents were selected by a multi-stage random sample.<br>Most important political issues in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania; intention to vote in the state election in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania; preference for polling station or absentee ballot; party preference (first vote, second vote); certainty of own voting decision; importance of federal politics for one´s own voting decision in the state election in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania; interest in the state election; voting behavior in the last state election; evaluation of a sole government of the SPD after the state election; coalition preference; attitude towards different coalition constellations: Split A: Government of SPD and CDU, of SPD and Left, of SPD and Greens, of SPD and FDP (end of Split A), Split B: Government of SPD, Left and Greens, and of SPD, Greens and FDP (end of Split B); sympathy scalometer for selected parties at the federal and state level (SPD, AfD, CDU, Left, Greens and FDP); satisfaction scalometer on the performance of the state government of SPD and CDU, of SPD and CDU in the state government, and of AfD and Left in opposition in the state parliament; sympathy scalometer for leading politicians (Manuela Schwesig, Nikolaus Kramer and Michael Sack); party sympathy; interest in politics; preference for Manuela Schwesig, Nikolaus Kramer or Michael Sack as premier or as prime minister; Split A: Comparison of credibility, likability, and expertise of Manuela Schwesig, Nikolaus Kramer, and Michael Sack (end of Split A); Split B: Assessment of Manuela Schwesig´s credibility, sympathy and expertise (end of split B); assessment of the current economic situation in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania; comparison of the economic situation in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania with that in the other eastern German states; assessment of the party´s own economic situation; party competencies: Split A: most competent party to solve the economic problems in the state, in the areas of corona policy, climate protection and asylum policy (end of Split A); Split B: Most competent party to create new jobs in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, in the areas of school and education policy, with regard to better infrastructure in the areas of fast Internet, public transportation, medical care and shopping facilities, and with regard to the concerns and problems of East Germans (end of Split B); future viability of the state and most competent party to solve future problems in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania; assessment of the work of Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig; agreement with various statements: Split A: the Left does not care enough about the interests of East Germans today, there are much more important issues in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania than climate change (end of Split A), Split B: the AfD is the only party that calls the important problems by their names, the Greens do not fit a state like Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania; CDU in the state vs. CDU in the federal government responsible for a possible poor performance of the CDU in the state election (end of Split B); opinion on the improvement of infrastructure in the areas of fast Internet, public transport, medical care and shopping facilities in rural areas by the state government; opinion on the consideration of the interests of foreigners living in Germany by politics; satisfaction with the Corona policy of the state government in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania; fair share of the standard of living.

Demography: sex; age (classified); school-leaving qualification or targeted school-leaving qualification; university degree; employment; job security; occupational position; leading position; public service employment; household size; number of persons in household 18 years and older; union member in the household; religious denomination; party affiliation; party identification; city size; voting eligibility.

Additionally coded were: ID; weighting factor.